FCC Rejects Obama’s Net Neutrality Proposal

Following President Obama’s support for net neutrality, suggesting that the FCC invoke Title II legislation to protect broadband as a utility, Tom Wheeler, the Chairman of the FCC, has issued a defiant response: “I am an independent agency.”

Obama proposed that Title II of the 1934 Communications Act be applied to the internet in order to protect services from anti-consumer measures. As part of the regulation, ISPs would be monitored by independent ombudsmen to ensure their fair practice. The proposal has met opposition from ISPs – Verizon and AT&T have already make threats of legal action if Title II is implemented – and Republicans, citing the potential restriction of trade as damaging to the free market. But the FCC’s reply has undermined Obama’s proposition before it could gain traction.